


you stick around (i'll make it worth your while)

by m_writes



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Trek Fusion, Flirting, M/M, Pre-Relationship, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:09:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28813947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/m_writes/pseuds/m_writes
Summary: “I’m Lucas,” Yellow Shirt - Lucas - says. “Well, my Starfleet name anyway. My Neo name is Yukhei.”He stretches out a hand, and - oh, shit, it’smassive.Hendery tries not to think about this fact as he takes Lucas’s hand to shake.Hendery meets someone the night before leaving for a five-year mission. It's not fate, just flirting....Right?
Relationships: Wong Kun Hang | Hendery/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas
Comments: 6
Kudos: 46
Collections: Challenge #4 — Awaken The World





	you stick around (i'll make it worth your while)

**Author's Note:**

> As someone who tends towards longer works, I had such a good time with this challenge - it was SO FUN to write, and I hope it's just as much fun to read!!
> 
> This is very loosely based in the 2009 Star Trek universe. I took a lot of liberties with it, though, so don't get too hung up on details ;)
> 
> Thank you as always to venvephe and andreannaness for your suggestions, support, encouragement, etc. Writing wouldn't be half as fun without you both. <3
> 
> Title is from "Intergalactic" by the Beastie Boys - appropriate in a Star Trek fusion, I think!

Hendery flops against the bar with relief, combing his fingers through his sweaty hair as he flags the bartender down. He only had to elbow a few people out of the way to get here, which isn’t bad considering how packed the club is. He isn’t mad about the crowd - it’s kind of exhilarating, actually; the crush of people, the shouted conversations, the loud music with bass so strong he can feel it rattling his bones. 

Besides, he’d be a hypocrite to be upset. Almost everyone in the club is decked out in their Starfleet uniform, just like he is - out for one last night of unsupervised trouble before they are all sent on a five-year mission to the outer reaches of the galaxy. Hendery’sexcited for his mission, to be sure, but - he will _definitely_ miss this.

“Hey, handsome,” says a voice to his left.

Hendery sighs. Well, he’ll miss clubs, but he _won’t_ miss getting hit on by sleazy guys.

He turns with a tight smile affixed on his face, ready to give the stranger a polite but firm rejection - but when he sees the man standing in front of him he stops, distracted.

First, the guy is wearing a yellow Command uniform. Whoever this guy is, he must be somewhat important. Second, the guy’s hair is bright teal. It’s jarring not only for the color itself, but also because it’s colored at all. Starfleet likes to think it’s progressive, but it’s still stuck in the 21st century when it comes to workplace appearances. Hendery himself had been forced to dye his beautiful pink hair back to its boring natural brown when he enlisted. 

(Yes, he’s still kind of bitter about it.)

And third - the guy is handsome. _Really_ handsome. Like, the type of handsome you only see in movies. The type of handsome Hendery would save to his data pad to reference during his… alone time.

Maybe Hendery can just hear what he has to say.

“Hey yourself,” Hendery says, cocking his hip against the bar and flashing his most winning smile. He knows how to angle his head and narrow his eyes in a way that makes men weak at the knees, and Yellow Shirt is no exception - Hendery can see the guy’s breath hitch just slightly, and his eyes drop to Hendery’s lips for a split second.

Hendery’s grin stretches wider. 

“I like the hair,” Hendery continues. “You must have friends in high places, getting to flaunt Starfleet regulations like that.”

The guy laughs, the sound too goofy and unpolished to be anything but genuine. “It’s natural, actually,” he says.

Hendery raises his eyebrows. “You’re not human, then?”

“Nope,” Yellow Shirt says, shaking his head. “Neo.”

“Ah, well, that explains it.” Hendery sees several flashes of silver in the guy’s ears that are _definitely_ not in their uniform code. He tips his head, curious. “Is the bling natural too?”

Yellow Shirt grins, tugging at the hoop in one of his lobes.

“Maybe I also have friends in high places,” he says, looking a little sheepish and a _lot_ adorable. 

Hendery feels something flip in his stomach as he laughs. Uh-oh. This guy is dangerously charming.

“I’m Lucas,” Yellow Shirt - Lucas - says. “Well, my Starfleet name anyway. My Neo name is Yukhei.” 

He stretches out a hand, and - oh, shit, it’s _massive_. Hendery tries not to think about this fact as he takes Lucas’s hand to shake.

“I’m Hendery,” he replies. He purposely stops short of giving Lucas his Homeworld name - he’s kind of surprised that Lucas offered his own up so readily; usually those are reserved for close friends or family. Maybe that’s part of Lucas’s technique, how he gets boys to come home with him.

Lucas still looks like he’s waiting for Hendery to finish, though, eyebrows raised expectantly.

“Are you... human?” Lucas asks, when it’s clear Hendery isn’t going to continue.

“Yep,” Hendery says, popping the _p_.

Lucas tilts his head. “So… what’s your Earth name, then?”

Hendery smirks, sliding his hand out of Lucas’s grip to lightly flick one of the hoops in his ears. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Lucas groans in mock distress, tugging at Hendery’s wrist before he can pull his hand away.

“Oh, come on,” he whines, giggling and trying to twine their fingers together, “I gave you mine!”

“Not that I asked for it,” Hendery replies, taking his hand back, but he’s laughing as he does. “Why do you want to know, anyway?”

Lucas’s eyes go hooded as he takes a step closer to Hendery. It’s not just Lucas’s hands that are big - _all_ of him is big, and he’s practically boxing Hendery into the bar. Hendery finds he doesn’t mind in the slightest.

“Because,” Lucas murmurs, leaning in so Hendery can hear over the din of the crowd, “I need to know what name I’ll be screaming tonight.”

It’s a clever twist on a terrible pickup line, and Hendery’s answering chuckle is more breathless than he’d like.

“Points to you for originality,” Hendery replies. He _thinks_ he’s managing to keep his voice even. “Usually when guys proposition me they want it the other way around.”

Lucas shrugs, the corner of his mouth quirked up. “That would be okay too. But you look like you could handle me. That’s an invitation, by the way.”

Hendery can’t help but tip his head back with a genuine laugh, and Lucas’s smooth demeanor gives way to a toothy grin. 

If it were any other night, Hendery thinks he might consider actually letting Lucas take him home. Or, at least, to a quieter corner of the club, so they could get to know each other a little better.

But that’s not what tonight is about - tonight is about letting loose with his friends before they all are forced to buckle down for the next five years. And as cute as Lucas is - well. If fate had wanted Lucas in Hendery’s life, they would have crossed paths before.

Lucas opens his mouth like he’s going to say something else, but the bartender chooses that moment to slide over to Hendery with his drink order. Hendery thanks the bartender, tapping the proffered data pad to pay and tip, and carefully pushes the glasses together so he can pick them up. When he turns back around, he finds that Lucas hasn’t gone too far.

“You sure I can’t buy you a drink?” Lucas says. He bites his lip, looking hopeful and adorable. “It could just be a drink, if you want.”

Hendery melts a little. “Maybe another time,” he says, feeling genuinely apologetic - not just for having to let Lucas down, but also because they both know that the chances of them running into each other again are slim. Starfleet is huge.

But Lucas takes it like a champ, merely giving him a crooked smile as he slides over to let Hendery pass.

Hendery could probably leave it there, but - he’s had fun flirting with Lucas tonight, even if he knew it couldn’t go anywhere. He wants the other man to remember him.

Hendery gives Lucas a teasing smile. “It was nice to meet you, _Yukhei_.” 

He allows himself a moment to take in Lucas’s breathless laugh before slipping past him and losing himself in the throng of the crowd.

Hendery’s glad for the distraction of navigating the pulsating bodies around him as he makes his way back to where his friends are waiting. It gives him a few minutes to compose himself - he knows he’s making the right decision, but there is still a niggling sensation in the back of his mind that he’s making some sort of mistake.

All thoughts of handsome, flirtatious command staff are swept away as he finally pushes through the edge of the crowd and arrives at the table.

“Finally!” Yangyang cries, somehow managing to _still_ be entirely too loud even over the noise of the club. “I thought you’d abandoned us!”

“Yeah, what the hell took you so long?” Xiaojun asks, smacking his arm. The motion almost makes Hendery spill all of their drinks - luckily he manages to safely set them down before returning Xiaojun’s favor with a smack of his own.

“What do you think? It’s packed,” Hendery says. “Alright, you ungrateful heathens. One for Xiaojun, one for Winwin - fuck, Yangyang, you’re going to spill something if you keep trying to grab things, just let me hand it to you - and this one is Kun’s.” Hendery frowns at the two remaining drinks, looking around the table. “Where’s Ten? I specifically ordered his super complicated drink and he just leaves?”

Kun rolls his eyes. “He and Johnny decided to make good on their unspoken _thing_ ,” he says, jerking his head towards the back of the bar.

Hendery looks in the direction Kun has indicated - sure enough, there they are, sucking face and looking about five seconds away from public indecency. Ten has Johnny’s hips pinned to the wall, and Johnny’s got his hands down Ten’s uniform pants to grab at his ass.

Hendery barks out a laugh. “Should we go stop them before they actually end up fucking in public?”

Winwin wrinkles his nose. “I’m not going anywhere near them right now. If they end up going too far it’s their own fault for letting the sexual tension build this much.”

Hendery tilts his head. “Fair. Well then - more drinks for me!” He takes a huge swig of Ten’s drink and regrets it immediately, practically choking on it as he swallows. It’s got something strangely floral in it - he has no clue how Ten can stomach it.

“Actually, fuck that,” he says, his voice hoarse. He pushes the drink towards Yangyang. “More drinks for you.” Yangyang happily swipes the glass up and chugs the rest of its contents.

As Hendery settles back to sip at his own drink, he can’t help but glance over at Johnny and Ten again. They’re just talking now, staring into each others’ eyes with matching grins on their faces. Hendery averts his gaze - somehow, that’s more embarrassing to watch than the kissing.

For all his teasing, Hendery is legitimately really happy for them. They’ve been skirting around the edges of a romantic relationship for a while now, so there’s a certain sort of relief in them finally getting their shit together enough to do something about their feelings. 

Probably could have picked better timing, since they’re all about to be off-planet and in each others’ pockets for the next five years, but still.

Or maybe - maybe there’s no such thing as “good” timing, when it comes to things like this. Maybe there’s no sense in trying to plan out your love life; maybe it’s just something that will happen when it happens. 

It’s a hard concept for Hendery to grasp - he’s in the science division for a reason, after all; his brain likes clear definitions. But Johnny and Ten certainly hadn’t looked like they were worried about whether or not this was the right moment to start a relationship. They’d just - gone for it, when it felt right.

Hendery thinks of a bright smile, and teal hair, and warm brown eyes, and a stone of regret forms in his stomach.

Luckily for him, his friends are too obnoxious to leave him alone - Xiaojun pulls him out of his thoughts with an elbow to the side.

“Hey,” Xiaojun says, “you okay?”

Hendery shakes his head and plasters on a smile, nudging Xiaojun back. “Yeah, of course. Just thinking.”

Xiaojun grins. “Good! Because while you were spacing out, Yangyang challenged you to a drinking contest, and now it’s too late to say no.”

Sure enough, Yangyang is sitting across the table wiggling his eyebrows at Hendery, holding up his glass - the glass that had Ten’s drink, Hendery notices, is at Yangyang’s elbow, only the ice remaining.

Hendery groans, but it’s all for show - he dutifully takes up his drink as well. “Alright, fine. First one to finish wins. What’s the prize?”

“Loser pays for another round,” Yangyang replies. His words are already slurring slightly - Hendery feels good about his chances.

As predicted, Hendery wins that round, and Yangyang immediately declares, “Double or nothing!” and the night pretty much devolves from there. Yangyang loses again, and somehow everyone else in their group gets roped in, all of them making progressively more ridiculous bets as their alcohol consumption increases and their critical thinking skills decline.

Well, almost everyone else - an indeterminate period of time later, Hendery glances over to where Johnny and Ten had been to find that they’ve been replaced by a different, less handsy couple. A quick scan of the immediate area comes up empty, which means that he and Johnny probably left together. Hendery huffs out a breath of laughter. He’s sure they’re having fun making up for lost time, wherever they are.

Hendery finds himself continuing to peruse the corner of the club they’re in, and belatedly realizes that he’s looking for a shock of blue hair among the crowd. His cheeks heat, even though he shouldn’t really be embarrassed - it’s not like anyone knows why his attention is drifting.

“Hey, you okay?” Kun says, bringing Hendery’s focus back to their group.

“Ah, yeah,” Hendery says. “Just - just looking for someone.”

Kun hums. “Did you find him?”

Hendery looks back out at the bar - the groups huddled around their tables, the thrumming crowd on the dancefloor; all of it a sea of brown and red and blonde.

“Nah,” Hendery says, bringing his glass to his lips. “He’s long gone.”

***

Hendery would rate his headache the next morning at a 15 on a pain scale of 1 to 10 - which isn’t as bad as it could be, all things considered.

He goes through the motions of showering, brushing his teeth, tugging on his Starfleet uniform - a different set from the night before, thankfully; he thinks he will probably have to get _that_ one deep cleaned - and combing his hair into some semblance of order. He splashes some cool water on his face and pinches his cheeks, hoping to encourage blood flow, before shoving everything into his gear bag and making his way down to the loading bay.

There are about a hundred transport pods ready to shuttle them all to one of five Starfleet cruisers docked just outside Earth’s orbit. He passes by the sections cordoned off for the USS _Wings_ and _Miroh_ before spotting Kun waving at him from where the _Resonance_ shuttles are parked. 

“Hey guys - you all look like shit,” Hendery says cheerily. His friends are all in various stages of hangover distress, though no one is worse for wear than Yangyang, who looks like he shouldn’t even be able to stand.

“Look who’s talking,” Kun says, flicking Hendery’s ear. “Are the bags under your eyes designer?”

“Ha ha.” Hendery swats Kun’s hand away. “I know. I’d kill to be able to use some concealer right now.”

Kun smirks and jerks his thumb over his shoulder. “I think those two would agree.”

Hendery looks in the direction Kun is pointing - Johnny and Ten are standing slightly apart from the rest of their group, huddled together, and both of their necks are _riddled_ with hickeys.

“Jesus,” Hendery laughs. “It’s a good thing Captain Lee loves them both.” He narrows his eyes. “Is that - is that a hickey on Ten’s _arm?_ ”

“I’m afraid to ask,” Kun says wryly.

Their conversation is cut short when Commander Moon’s voice comes over the intercom in their area, assigning each of them to one of the _Resonance_ shuttles. Hendery mostly tunes this out, until he hears “Wong Hendery, shuttle 5, seat 12-A” and makes his way over to his assigned post.

He’s been on a shuttle before, back when he first enlisted, but he’s forgotten how tightly packed they are. He hopes he’s mostly managed to scrub the scent of vodka out of his pores, or else his seat neighbors are going to hate him.

Hendery is so focused on making sure he finds the right seat number that he doesn’t bother looking at any of the other shuttle occupants. So it totally takes him by surprise when, as he approaches seat 12-A, he hears a familiar voice.

“Hey, handsome.”

Hendery whips his head to the right - sure enough, there’s Lucas and all his teal-haired glory in seat 12-B.

“Hey yourself,” he says, just to see if Lucas remembers - judging by the grin that stretches across the other man’s face, Hendery guesses that he does. 

Someone nudges Hendery from behind, and he realizes that he’s just standing in the middle of the aisle, staring at Lucas. He quickly shoves his gear bag into the overhead compartment and slides into his seat, strapping himself in before turning to look at Lucas again. He somehow looks even more stunning in the light of day, a feat Hendery wouldn’t have thought possible.

“What a coincidence,” Hendery says after a moment. He can’t seem to stop himself from grinning hugely at Lucas.

“I know, right?” Lucas, apparently, can’t stop smiling either. “I think they do this alphabetically. What’s your family name? If you don’t mind me asking.” Lucas rushes to say this last part, conscious of Hendery’s privacy.

“I don’t mind,” Hendery says, and he finds he doesn’t. “It’s Wong.”

Lucas barks out a laugh. “No way? Mine too!”

Hendery lets out a breathless chuckle. The word _fate_ keeps echoing in his mind.

“Well, I hope you don’t mind me saying this,” Lucas says, his cheeks turning a cute pink, “but it’s _really_ nice to see you again, Wong Hendery.”

Hendery grins and makes a split second decision. He wonders if Lucas can hear the way his heart is pounding as he reaches out to where Lucas’s hand is resting on the armrest.

“Wong Kunhang,” he says, tangling their fingers together. “And it’s really nice to see you again too, Wong Yukhei.”

Lucas’s answering smile is incandescent. 

Maybe a five year mission doesn’t sound so bad after all.


End file.
